#and i think if he'd heard their perspective and everything they've learned he'd have a different outlook on things

[tiredlylaughing]

i wish they got to talk to dan and phil back in 2021 when they really could've used their advice

[amelikos]

Looking at Crave's Chillaccino's reactions throughout the whole exchange between Amethio and Crave, it feels like Chillaccino was confused and thought the situation wasn't really natural since it kept looking back and forth between both of them. It also exchanged looks with Crave once Amethio left, as if to ask Crave if he was okay letting Amethio leave just like that, which makes me think this isn't usual behavior from Crave. And once Chillaccino heard a knock on the door, it immediately looked happy thinking Amethio had actually come back (which possibly indicates that Amethio and Chillaccino got along!).

Either way, Liko and Amethio's family situations keep contrasting each other. We've seen Liko and Diana share information and everything they've learned about the Explorers in HZ074. They weren't keeping secrets from each other, and they eventually got to meet Rystal who told them the truth about everything and shed light about their ancestry. Yet, Rystal also told them she wasn't going to tell Leyla anything about Lucius or Rakua to keep the tragedy from happening ever again. She thought it was the best thing to do in her situation, because sometimes you just want to hide certain things or shield someone you care about from certain truths that are better left unknown.. I think Crave is in a similar situation here. Maybe he knows something about the Rakurium, but we've seen that it's something that can be dangerous so it makes sense for him not to want Amethio to be further involved into this.

Crave not looking directly at Amethio also reminded me of Lucca who didn't meet up with Liko in HZ012. She initially wanted to take the pendant from Liko and she didn't want to let the overprotective side of her get in the way of Liko making her own choices, so Lucca left before she could see her. Similarly here, I think Crave wanted to avoid looking at Amethio, potentially because it would make him weak.. like, his resolve in not telling him would falter. Not that Amethio would understand his perspective though, because he sees it as rejection. Crave probably hopes to discourage Amethio from investigating further or slow him down in his quest for information, but I don't think Amethio will easily back down anyway.

I wonder if Amethio and Crave will have a honest talk eventually. Liko had to open up to her father about her desire to keep traveling and be honest with him. Roy had to face his grandfather and ask him for permission to go on a journey with Hogator (he was initially reluctant to ask his grandfather, but Liko encouraged him to take a step forward). Dot had to face her mother and be honest with her, and she had to ask for permission to keep traveling as well. So, I feel like Amethio's family should have a honest talk eventually because their issues stem from a lack of communication.

I am curious about Amethio's family.. Crave genuinely grew up to be a caring person who wants to improve the lives of both humans and Pokemon. He seems to be invested in research too (which is what led him to Friede!), similarly to Gibeon. It makes me wonder how Gibeon was as a father with him. I also wonder how much Crave knows about the Rakurium and his feelings about it. He's probably seen his father go off the deep end because of it. Friede also came to ask him about it in HZ054. And now, even Amethio wants to get closer to the Rakurium and know more about it. I don't think there is an easy answer to this. It's understandable that he'd want to withhold information (if he has any), but the truth is bound to be revealed eventually.

[copperxxgalileo]

isaac powell, gay, male + he/him ― hey look, it’s copernicus "copper" mcintrye-rossi! they’re 27 years old, they’ve lived in shrike heights for most of their life (they've recently returned), and they’re currently working at shrike aquatic centre and spa service in shrike mall (and as a paramedic). i heard they’re pretty distrustful, but i think they’re so loyal at the same time. can they make it out alive?

About Copper

Full name: Copernicus "Copper" Galileo McIntyre-Rossi Age: 27 years old Birthday: September 5, 1961 Sexuality: gay Relationship status: single (widowed) Family: Two fathers, two siblings (brother and sister) Residence: A rented cabin in the mountains (family estate is just outside the central business district) Occupation: lifeguard at Shrike Aquatic Centre and Spa Service/paramedic Skills: First-aid/CPR, self-defense

Copernicus "Copper" Galileo McIntyre-Rossi was named for two famous astronomers, and it always inspired him to look to the stars. It helped keep things in perspective, the vastness of the galaxy above, and every time he would look to the night sky, he would feel so blissfully at peace. It was what he found himself doing more and more as he got older and he began to learn that life wasn't going to be as peaceful as he had always thought.

Copper was adopted by two men - Matthew and Owen - who had fallen in love and longed to have a family, and his life had been happy. Raised with his adopted brother and sister by their loving fathers, Copper had always had everything he needed in love, whether that be material goods or things like love and care and protection. And he had had even more: Copper's dads were both successful doctors at Shrike County Hospital, and both had inherited money through their families, so the McIntyre-Rossi family was always very well-off financially. That being said, it had been important for the patriarchs of the family to mold their children into individuals who were humble and grounded and kind, so they had tried to raise them in such a way to the best of their ability. They'd always had expensive clothes and other such luxuries (such as a car on their 16th birthdays), but the children had also had part-time jobs during school, and their had had an allowance. Sure, it was an allowance beyond what a typical teenager might have, but they didn't have limitless access to funds to buy whatever they wanted. Similarly, all three children had been required to volunteer somewhere in town. Matthew and Owen had wanted to teach their children the value of money, and they wanted them to never forget just how lucky they were. That was why Copper had continued volunteering at the Animal Rescue Shelter in Shrike Heights even after he was no longer required to, even continuing on summers home from college. Matthew and Owen had been successful in their effort to raise their children into adults who knew how to love.

During high school, Copper had been popular, but in a more restrained kind of way. People generally liked him, but he was introspective and quiet, only opening up to the close friends he really trusted. He would hang out with others at school, go to parties, things like that, but many of Copper's classmates felt like they didn't truly know him. Some of the few people who did were those on the soccer and swim teams. Copper had been a part of both, and he was as loyal to his teammates as he was to his close friends, and it was because of this that he'd been named soccer captain his senior year of high school. He wasn't the best on either team, but Copper was talented, and his family and friends always cheered him on. But despite their strong support system, Copper wanted to see what else was out there. Their family traveled frequently, but Copper had never set out on his own, and that was what he wanted to do. So after graduation, Copper had gone off to college in Seattle, wanting to prove to everyone - and himself - that he was strong enough to make it on his own.

As it turned out, he was right. Although there was an adjustment period, Copper thrived in college, coming out of his shell a bit and making new friends, though he never forgot his old ones, keeping in touch with them and his family frequently and visiting during nearly every school break. While in college, Copper met a man named Deacon, and they fell in love. Copper had dated different guys before, but with Deacon, he finally knew what true love felt like, and he was so unspeakably happy with Deacon. People would always say they were meant to be together, like they had literally been made for each other. Plato once said that humans had been created with two heads and four arms and legs, and Zeus had split them in two, cursing them to search for their other half. While Copper didn't believe that, if it were true, then Deacon was his other half without a doubt. Deacon helped Copper believe in soulmates, and he'd found his. There was no reason for Copper to believe that anything would shatter his idyllic existence. He should have been looking over his shoulder.

After college, Copper and Deacon lived together, and a year after graduation, they were married. While Deacon worked in tech development, Copper focused on writing, working for a newspaper in Seattle. Life was everything Copper had hoped for, but a couple of years after graduating from college, the first cracks began to show in the veneer of Copper's heretofore perfect life. Copper began receiving letters. At first they had been strange but not completely alarming. They had been anonymous love letters sent without a return address, and Copper had genuinely believed at first that they were from Deacon. Copper played the game he thought his new husband had started, never mentioning them to Deacon, and for about six months Copper would receive a new letter every week or two. Soon after this, they began to change. While the frequency of the letters increased to at least once a week, the content shifted to something more sinister. The writer talked about Copper's various activities, the places he went and the people he talked to, and they also began to express jealousy about Deacon or any other man Copper associated with, be it friends or coworkers or just various clerks and baristas and the like. This was when Copper realized the letters weren't coming from Deacon, and he finally told his husband everything. Naturally Deacon was mortified, especially as the letters kept coming. It was clear that the writer was watching Copper and had been for some time, and neither man had any idea whom it could be. They didn't want to think anyone in their lives was doing this, but at the end of the day, the only one either truly trusted was each other.

The letters kept coming, and the tone became more erratic. It was like the writer was becoming unhinged, sometimes loving and sweet while others wrathful and threatening. Neither Copper nor Deacon knew what to do, and the police were of no help at all when they finally went. It became clear that the writer had been following Copper for quite some time, mentioning various events in Copper's life even as far back as college, including things that had happened during trips home to Shrike Heights. This terrified Copper, especially when the writer would threaten the people in his life, such as his family and close friends and most especially Deacon. And when he began receiving letters that weren't even post-marked - meaning that the writer had personally delivered them - Copper knew that he and everyone he cared about were in danger. The two men moved to a new home, but it was like nothing could keep Copper's stalker - because that's what he was, they were sure of it now - away. They would always find where Copper and Deacon at, meaning they had to move frequently. And then something even worse happened: Deacon was attacked while leaving work. He managed to evade his attacker, but it had been close. The attacker had meant to kill Deacon, brandishing a knife, and it had been a narrow escape. This was when Copper and Deacon decided it was time to leave Seattle, moving to Copper's hometown of Shrike Heights to stay temporarily with his parents. They didn't want to start their careers over, but their safety was the most important thing.

On the night before they were to leave, Copper and Deacon went out with friends for a going away celebration. While they knew they would miss Seattle, this was the right thing, and they tried to enjoy their last night. However, upon returning home, Copper found an envelope on their front porch. It was for Copper, and there was no return address or postmark, so Copper knew that it was from his stalker. Once inside, Deacon went upstairs to get ready for bed, and Copper remained downstairs in the kitchen, opening the letter. What he read chilled him to his core: it said, "If I can't have you, no one can." Immediately Copper ran upstairs to show Deacon, but once he got there, his worst nightmare became a reality. As Copper showed Deacon the letter, someone burst out of their closet, someone dressed in all black - including a black ski mask - and holding a knife. A fight ensued, and everything that happened became a blur. Later Copper's therapist would tell him that he suppressed the hardest aspects of the experience, but Copper remembered enough. He remembered watching the stalker stab the man he loved, remembered Deacon falling to the floor, lying there motionless in a growing pool of blood. Copper remembered fighting against the stalker, and he remembered the sharp pain of the knife sliding into his gut once, twice, three times. And Copper remembered falling to the floor, reaching out for Deacon as everything went black. They were far enough away that he couldn't quite reach him, his fingertips barely grazing Deacon's hand.

When Copper woke up, he was in the hospital. Apparently a neighbor saw a masked figure running from their house and called the police, and they had arrived in time to rush Copper to the hospital and save his life. Alas, Deacon was not so lucky. The stalker was never found, and Copper would never forgive himself. He was the reason the killer was in their life, why they had targeted Deacon, and Copper knew that Deacon's blood was on his hands just as much as the killer's. Now the man he loved, his soulmate, his everything, was dead, and Copper would never be the same. Once he recovered, Copper moved around for awhile, using his trust fund and what he had inherited from Deacon, never staying in one place for long. There was a dark period of six months when Copper was rarely not drunk or at least buzzed, anything he could do to deal with the pain of his loss. But finally his family and friends intervened and convinced Copper that this wasn't the life Deacon would want for him, so Copper cleaned up his life, picking up the pieces of what remained of it, but he felt empty. It was like he was going through the motions. Copper continued to drift around, never staying in one place for long, but a year after Deacon's murder, Copper decided to return home to Shrike Heights for his family and the friends who had known him before his life had been shattered. They wanted him to come home, so Copper rented a cabin in the mountains of Shrike Heights. Despite coming home of his own volition, Copper wanted something somewhat isolated, something private, a refuge he could return to when life became too heavy, which was often these days. He got a job at Shrike Aquatic Centre and Spa at the mall because he had always loved water, and these days Copper needed to find joy in anything he could. And Copper began working as a paramedic too. Maybe he hadn't been able to save Deacon, but if Copper could help someone else in need, he was going to do it.

After moving home, a friend from Seattle confessed to Copper that she worried about this choice. "What if that psychopath finds you?" she had asked him. After all, Copper hadn't heard anything from his stalker since leaving Seattle over a year ago, so why return to a place where his stalker could easily find him? Copper told his friend that it was a risk he would have to take, but there was something else, something he didn't tell his friend or anyone else: that he hoped the fucker would find him. Since his attack, Copper had been working out and taking self-defense classes as well as training to use various firearms, and he was ready now. When his husband's killer finally found him again, Copper was going to make him pay.

Other facts

Copper still writes, but he doesn't know if he wants to do it as a profession anymore. It feels like that's from a different life

He's really into astronomy, inspired by one of his father's love for it and his name (he was named after two famous astronomers, so he was destined to love it too)

From a young age, Copper knew he was gay, and his family was completely accepting of that...obviously given that he's got two fathers

Copper is a vegetarian, but he doesn't care if anyone else eats meat. It's just not for him

He's more of a cat person, no question

Even though he knows he shouldn't, Copper smokes occasionally - cigarettes that is. He smokes pot a lot more often. Also he tends to drink too much sometimes

He used to love horror movies, though recent events have sort of changed his perception of them

More to come

[sfc-russell-ziskey]

Unfortunately, my cousin and I don't really talk much. And he's busy with his equipment and his ghost busting. I don't suppose he's got much time for the extended family. There's supposed to be a family reunion, but I haven't heard if he's going or not.

The way you talk about Asmodeus...you really do make that demon sound pretty pathetic, in the bigger picture. They've been talking themselves up in a really creepy way, but I suppose smaller things feel like they have to do that. Because image is all they have - not substance. I suppose that'll get worse before it gets better. I'll keep what you say in mind.

[Russ' smile got a little softer, and wider.]

The armored vehicle I operated for a while was great. I did a lot of property damage that way. Really fucked up the Soviets' plans, too. Saved a lot of people - got them out, alive. And it cost the Soviets a lot to build it all back. Guess they never had that much to begin with, though. The things you learn from stuff you weren't supposed to see....

[His look turned a trifle more pensive.]

For all the destruction, though, I never killed anyone. I was careful not to. It wasn't their fault, being where they were. They were just caught up in something much bigger than them, and they didn't really have much choice about it. They were just trying to get by, like any of us. It's always better to send them home with a few scrapes and a story. They have families and loved ones, too.

Love....

[Russ took a deep breath, here.]

Love is indeed powerful. It makes us strong. And foolish. And smart. And soft. It inspires us. And it can wreck us. Bring us together, and forge some of the most amazing bonds. It lies at the heart of our most cherished relationships with one another. Our friends. Our families.

[His voice became soft and warm. He thought of Louise, and John. He contemplated other loves he'd had for a time. And the idea of unknown loves yet to be. He thought of Mort's rum-addled confession about his feelings for Moe.]

It's what sparks our concern and care for one another. It's what brought us here, to fight Asmodeus. It's the connections of family....but it's also the way Mort cherishes Moe. The way he encouraged Moe back in Ohio, and wants him...to be...safe. And...healthy....

[His voice trailed off. Russ' gentle brown eyes flicked side to side as he spoke. He wasn't feeling as tired as he had been a little earlier. Hearing Gozer praise him the way they had had a uniquely invigorating effect on him, but he also knew he couldn't possibly be thinking too clearly when his mind tried to add everything up. No. It's the sleep deprivation giving him these odd thoughts. Or was Asmodeus subtly working on his mind...? This wasn't.... They....just weren't... Couldn't.....]

[Don't read anything into it, Ziskey. What part of "'bad idea" do you need a refresher on? Sleep first. Clear your head. Everything will make sense later. Get some damn perspective!]

Y'know, Gozer, I appreciate you telling me about this Asmodeus clown. And I really appreciate your offer to help us. I think with your insight, we've probably got this demon licked, or we will soon. But, I'll be sure to call you if we haven't.

[Russ gave his lopsided grin.]

Quick as a sheep's butt.

[DON'T WINK, DAMMIT!]

Thanks for checking in on me like that, Gozer. That was...it was really kind of you.

[What are you thinking, Ziskey - you must be stark, raving bonkers. Lost your vertical hold. Half a bubble off plumb. Off your infernal nut. Several screws loose. Five cans short of a six-pack. The cheese slid off your cracker. You're an absolute box of frogs. Out to lunch... THE GATES ARE DOWN AND THE LIGHTS ARE FLASHING, BUT THERE'S NO TRAIN COMING!]

As for Mort and Moe, I don't suppose there are ever any promises that love will always work out with us humans. Sometimes, it doesn't. But, sometimes, it does. We just...hope. We hope and we try our best. We slip up, sometimes. We stumble, or fall short. It's not always perfect, or ideal. It's a process. And it's work. But, when it's right, and the love is there, driving all the choices we make in what we say and do, how we treat each other, the work doesn't really feel like work at all.

It just...it takes time. Usually. I don't know if that makes sense to you. It's pretty abstract. We usually talk about it as stories. In songs, or poems. Movies, books. Jokes, even. It's...complicated.

[CHILL, Ziskey. Chill out. They're going to sense all this....turmoil.]

But, I'd really like to talk with you more, when this is all over. If you'd like to, of course. You must have some pretty amazing stories of your own.

I...hope you're all right. You sounded so concerned about something. You went out of your way to look after me. I'd like to return the favor. Or, at least try. In any case, take care...Bestie....

y0

g3t z0m3 z133p y0u army fuck3r i can h3ar y0ur brain c311z d3t3ri0rating fr0m h3r3

@sfc-russell-ziskey